Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): Wildalone by Krassi Zourkova

In this darkly imaginative debut novel full of myth, magic, romance, and mystery, a Princeton freshman is drawn into a love triangle with two enigmatic brothers and discovers terrifying secrets about her family and herself—a bewitching blend of Twilight, The Secret History, Jane Eyre, and A Discovery of Witches.

For every world, there is an underworld.

Arriving at Princeton for her freshman year, Thea Slavin finds herself alone, a stranger in a strange land. Away from her family and her Eastern European homeland for the first time, she struggles to adapt to unfamiliar American ways and the challenges of college life—including a young man whose brooding good looks and murky past intrigue her. Drawn to the elusive Rhys and his equally handsome and mysterious brother, Jake, she ventures into a sensual mythic underworld as irresistible as it is dangerous.

In this shadow world that seems to evoke Greek mythology and the Bulgarian legends of the samodivi, or "wildalones"—forest witches who beguile and entrap men—Thea will discover a family secret bound to transform her forever . . . if she can accept that dead doesn't always mean gone, and love doesn't always distinguish between the two.

Mesmerizing and addictive, Wildalone is a thrilling blend of the modern and the fantastical. Krassi Zourkova creates an atmospheric world filled with rich characters as compelling as those of Diana Gabaldon, Deborah Harkness, and Stephenie Meyer.

My Review

There were things I LOVED about Wildalone and there were things I hated about it. Let's start with the great:

The writing style was fabulous and the blend of the Greek mythology with Bulgarian mythology and Christianity was interesting. I also loved the setting: partly in Princeton, which was almost a town unto itself, and partly in Bulgaria. It was awesome finding out all the little things about Bulgarian culture and customs, like that they nod for "no".

Also, Wildalone is sort of a witch story, with a blend of Greek maenad, so it was right up my alley. Add to that the creepy feel of Princeton, and not knowing what happened to Thea's sister, and I was in love with a lot of the aspects of the novel. I stayed up REALLY late to finish reading it, partly because when I was around half way through it and home alone around midnight, I had creeped myself out and didn't want to turn off the lights. I really wish the last 30% or so had kept the creepy feel, instead of concentrating on the romance.

The bad parts of the novel all had to do with the romance(s). I just hated Rhys, almost everything about him, including his controlling, creepy stalker behavior which was a clone of Edward Cullen from Twilight. Thea's best friend continuously called him a stalker - hello, Thea, get a clue. Stalkers are not cute, or sexy, or mysterious; they are dangerous and controlling, and that's why there are laws against stalking. His brother was a slightly better option, because he, at least somewhat, seemed nice and normal, but he didn't have any backbone.

I was also disappointed in the big reveal about what happened to Thea's sister. And, the ending was just awful. Well, if one can call that an ending. It kind of just ended in the middle of the drama with no resolution.

Most of Wildalone would have been a solid 4 or 4.5 stars, except I just couldn't get on board with the romance, and I HATED Rhys as a character. The romance made Wildalone feel more like Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, except I liked the myths and writing better.

Krassi Zourkova grew up in Bulgaria and came to the United States to study art history at Princeton. After college, she graduated from Harvard Law School, and she has practiced finance law in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, where she currently lives. Her poems have appeared in various literary journals. Wildalone is her first novel.